Daughter of Loy Frank Thompson, Sr., and Bleeka Cornelius
Wife of John Woodward Claris, Jr.
Connie Claris — (June 25, 1925 – June 19, 2011, Hendersonville)
Cornelia Thompson (Connie) Claris, 85, passed away peacefully at Carolina Village in Hendersonville on Sunday, June 19, 2011, succumbing to Parkinson's disease.
Connie was born in Shelby, NC, on June 25, 1925, the daughter of Loy Frank Thompson and Bleeka Cornelius Thompson. She grew up in Mooresville and New Bern. She met her husband Jack in New Bern when he was stationed at Cherry Point during World War II. After the war, they lived in Buffalo and Hicksville, NY.
The Claris family moved to Hendersonville during the great GE migration in the mid-fifties. Connie was very active in civic life. She wrote stories for the Times-News, was an active member of the Junior Welfare Club and Junior Women's Club, and taught Sunday school at the First Methodist Church. Since the 1960's, she was active in efforts to improve race relations in Hendersonville.
In 1968, the Claris family moved to Pittsburgh, PA. While Connie had attended Peace College and Duke University before getting married, she was always bothered that she hadn't earned a degree. In Pittsburgh, Connie graduated from Chatham College with honors. When the family later moved to Chapel Hill, Connie earned a master's degree in Counseling from the University of North Carolina. She worked as a career counselor at the Employment Security Commission in Durham and continued at the ESC when the family returned to Hendersonville in 1975. Connie retired in 1990 but continued counseling in private practice.
She remained active in Mainstay and the Community Foundation, mediated for the Dispute Settlement Center, taught adult literacy, tutored English to Latino immigrants, and was involved in many Servant Leadership projects.
Connie loved to travel too and visited with families in China, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Brazil, England and other countries through the Friendship Force, an international cultural exchange. She also welcomed Friendship Force visitors from other countries into her home.
Connie moved to Carolina Village in spring 2003 and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease shortly thereafter.
She is predeceased by her husband Jack (d.1989) and by her eldest child, daughter Brantley Claris of Wayne, PA (d. 2011). She is survived by son and daughter-in-law Woody and Gayle Claris of Chapel Hill; son and daughter-in-law Steve and Robin Claris of Choctaw, MS; daughter Cathy Claris and son-in-law Tommy Bradshaw of Burgaw; and son David Claris of Durham. She is also survived by her nieces, Katherine Thompson Corbett of Staunton, VA, and Debbie Thompson Nelson of McAlester, OK, and by her five grandchildren, Champ and Emma Claris, and Bart, Jack, and Davey Bradshaw.
A memorial service will be held in the Village Hall at Carolina Village on Saturday, August 6, at 3:00 p.m. The family will greet friends there an hour beforehand; a reception will follow in the lobby. Interment will be at Shepherd Memorial Park.
Donations to The John W. (Jack) Claris Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation of Henderson County (401 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792) would be much appreciated by Connie and her family.
Wife of John Woodward Claris, Jr.
Connie Claris — (June 25, 1925 – June 19, 2011, Hendersonville)
Cornelia Thompson (Connie) Claris, 85, passed away peacefully at Carolina Village in Hendersonville on Sunday, June 19, 2011, succumbing to Parkinson's disease.
Connie was born in Shelby, NC, on June 25, 1925, the daughter of Loy Frank Thompson and Bleeka Cornelius Thompson. She grew up in Mooresville and New Bern. She met her husband Jack in New Bern when he was stationed at Cherry Point during World War II. After the war, they lived in Buffalo and Hicksville, NY.
The Claris family moved to Hendersonville during the great GE migration in the mid-fifties. Connie was very active in civic life. She wrote stories for the Times-News, was an active member of the Junior Welfare Club and Junior Women's Club, and taught Sunday school at the First Methodist Church. Since the 1960's, she was active in efforts to improve race relations in Hendersonville.
In 1968, the Claris family moved to Pittsburgh, PA. While Connie had attended Peace College and Duke University before getting married, she was always bothered that she hadn't earned a degree. In Pittsburgh, Connie graduated from Chatham College with honors. When the family later moved to Chapel Hill, Connie earned a master's degree in Counseling from the University of North Carolina. She worked as a career counselor at the Employment Security Commission in Durham and continued at the ESC when the family returned to Hendersonville in 1975. Connie retired in 1990 but continued counseling in private practice.
She remained active in Mainstay and the Community Foundation, mediated for the Dispute Settlement Center, taught adult literacy, tutored English to Latino immigrants, and was involved in many Servant Leadership projects.
Connie loved to travel too and visited with families in China, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Brazil, England and other countries through the Friendship Force, an international cultural exchange. She also welcomed Friendship Force visitors from other countries into her home.
Connie moved to Carolina Village in spring 2003 and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease shortly thereafter.
She is predeceased by her husband Jack (d.1989) and by her eldest child, daughter Brantley Claris of Wayne, PA (d. 2011). She is survived by son and daughter-in-law Woody and Gayle Claris of Chapel Hill; son and daughter-in-law Steve and Robin Claris of Choctaw, MS; daughter Cathy Claris and son-in-law Tommy Bradshaw of Burgaw; and son David Claris of Durham. She is also survived by her nieces, Katherine Thompson Corbett of Staunton, VA, and Debbie Thompson Nelson of McAlester, OK, and by her five grandchildren, Champ and Emma Claris, and Bart, Jack, and Davey Bradshaw.
A memorial service will be held in the Village Hall at Carolina Village on Saturday, August 6, at 3:00 p.m. The family will greet friends there an hour beforehand; a reception will follow in the lobby. Interment will be at Shepherd Memorial Park.
Donations to The John W. (Jack) Claris Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation of Henderson County (401 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792) would be much appreciated by Connie and her family.
Daughter of Loy Frank Thompson, Sr., and Bleeka Cornelius
Wife of John Woodward Claris, Jr.
Connie Claris — (June 25, 1925 – June 19, 2011, Hendersonville)
Cornelia Thompson (Connie) Claris, 85, passed away peacefully at Carolina Village in Hendersonville on Sunday, June 19, 2011, succumbing to Parkinson's disease.
Connie was born in Shelby, NC, on June 25, 1925, the daughter of Loy Frank Thompson and Bleeka Cornelius Thompson. She grew up in Mooresville and New Bern. She met her husband Jack in New Bern when he was stationed at Cherry Point during World War II. After the war, they lived in Buffalo and Hicksville, NY.
The Claris family moved to Hendersonville during the great GE migration in the mid-fifties. Connie was very active in civic life. She wrote stories for the Times-News, was an active member of the Junior Welfare Club and Junior Women's Club, and taught Sunday school at the First Methodist Church. Since the 1960's, she was active in efforts to improve race relations in Hendersonville.
In 1968, the Claris family moved to Pittsburgh, PA. While Connie had attended Peace College and Duke University before getting married, she was always bothered that she hadn't earned a degree. In Pittsburgh, Connie graduated from Chatham College with honors. When the family later moved to Chapel Hill, Connie earned a master's degree in Counseling from the University of North Carolina. She worked as a career counselor at the Employment Security Commission in Durham and continued at the ESC when the family returned to Hendersonville in 1975. Connie retired in 1990 but continued counseling in private practice.
She remained active in Mainstay and the Community Foundation, mediated for the Dispute Settlement Center, taught adult literacy, tutored English to Latino immigrants, and was involved in many Servant Leadership projects.
Connie loved to travel too and visited with families in China, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Brazil, England and other countries through the Friendship Force, an international cultural exchange. She also welcomed Friendship Force visitors from other countries into her home.
Connie moved to Carolina Village in spring 2003 and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease shortly thereafter.
She is predeceased by her husband Jack (d.1989) and by her eldest child, daughter Brantley Claris of Wayne, PA (d. 2011). She is survived by son and daughter-in-law Woody and Gayle Claris of Chapel Hill; son and daughter-in-law Steve and Robin Claris of Choctaw, MS; daughter Cathy Claris and son-in-law Tommy Bradshaw of Burgaw; and son David Claris of Durham. She is also survived by her nieces, Katherine Thompson Corbett of Staunton, VA, and Debbie Thompson Nelson of McAlester, OK, and by her five grandchildren, Champ and Emma Claris, and Bart, Jack, and Davey Bradshaw.
A memorial service will be held in the Village Hall at Carolina Village on Saturday, August 6, at 3:00 p.m. The family will greet friends there an hour beforehand; a reception will follow in the lobby. Interment will be at Shepherd Memorial Park.
Donations to The John W. (Jack) Claris Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation of Henderson County (401 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792) would be much appreciated by Connie and her family.
Wife of John Woodward Claris, Jr.
Connie Claris — (June 25, 1925 – June 19, 2011, Hendersonville)
Cornelia Thompson (Connie) Claris, 85, passed away peacefully at Carolina Village in Hendersonville on Sunday, June 19, 2011, succumbing to Parkinson's disease.
Connie was born in Shelby, NC, on June 25, 1925, the daughter of Loy Frank Thompson and Bleeka Cornelius Thompson. She grew up in Mooresville and New Bern. She met her husband Jack in New Bern when he was stationed at Cherry Point during World War II. After the war, they lived in Buffalo and Hicksville, NY.
The Claris family moved to Hendersonville during the great GE migration in the mid-fifties. Connie was very active in civic life. She wrote stories for the Times-News, was an active member of the Junior Welfare Club and Junior Women's Club, and taught Sunday school at the First Methodist Church. Since the 1960's, she was active in efforts to improve race relations in Hendersonville.
In 1968, the Claris family moved to Pittsburgh, PA. While Connie had attended Peace College and Duke University before getting married, she was always bothered that she hadn't earned a degree. In Pittsburgh, Connie graduated from Chatham College with honors. When the family later moved to Chapel Hill, Connie earned a master's degree in Counseling from the University of North Carolina. She worked as a career counselor at the Employment Security Commission in Durham and continued at the ESC when the family returned to Hendersonville in 1975. Connie retired in 1990 but continued counseling in private practice.
She remained active in Mainstay and the Community Foundation, mediated for the Dispute Settlement Center, taught adult literacy, tutored English to Latino immigrants, and was involved in many Servant Leadership projects.
Connie loved to travel too and visited with families in China, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Brazil, England and other countries through the Friendship Force, an international cultural exchange. She also welcomed Friendship Force visitors from other countries into her home.
Connie moved to Carolina Village in spring 2003 and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease shortly thereafter.
She is predeceased by her husband Jack (d.1989) and by her eldest child, daughter Brantley Claris of Wayne, PA (d. 2011). She is survived by son and daughter-in-law Woody and Gayle Claris of Chapel Hill; son and daughter-in-law Steve and Robin Claris of Choctaw, MS; daughter Cathy Claris and son-in-law Tommy Bradshaw of Burgaw; and son David Claris of Durham. She is also survived by her nieces, Katherine Thompson Corbett of Staunton, VA, and Debbie Thompson Nelson of McAlester, OK, and by her five grandchildren, Champ and Emma Claris, and Bart, Jack, and Davey Bradshaw.
A memorial service will be held in the Village Hall at Carolina Village on Saturday, August 6, at 3:00 p.m. The family will greet friends there an hour beforehand; a reception will follow in the lobby. Interment will be at Shepherd Memorial Park.
Donations to The John W. (Jack) Claris Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation of Henderson County (401 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792) would be much appreciated by Connie and her family.
Inscription
In Loving Memory
Gravesite Details
Eden section of cemetery - Urn Garden
